Before Warriors
by Phantomfeather
Summary: Ever wondered what happened before Warriors? Ever wondered how the four Clans came to be? Read on to find out! The story of four special cats touched by the paw of fate, one Clan destined for disaster, and the hardest choice of all for one young cat.
1. Allegiances: ForestClan

**A/N: **Well, here's to another Warriors fic and many more to come! I don't usually start a fic and then do another one before it's finished...but I got a little bored with working on chap nine of "The Sight" so I started this little one-shot about the one Clan that started it all! Here's a little background info - you might want to read it, because I tweaked the Clan traditions a bit!

**Mentors:** These warriors are designated specifically by the Clan leader to train the apprentices. There is no set mentor/apprentice pair - each dawn, the Clan deputy assigns a mentor to work with an apprentice that day. If there aren't enough apprentices for all the mentors, the extra mentors just act as regular warriors, but all the apprentices have to have a mentor every day.

**Names:** Obviously, there is no such thing as two-part names in ForestClan (such as Brambleclaw, Sorreltail, Fireheart, etc.). The names are all one word, but can be any number of syllables (but bear in mind I'm not going to name a cat Antidisestablishmentarianism...too many syllables!).

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Warriors, Warriors: The New Prophecy, or Warriors: Power of Three, which means that I am not Erin Hunter. Obviously Erin Hunter is not a teenaged girl. ;)

**Carry on reading...Enjoy! I have the first couple of chapter finished on this, but I'm going to update alternately with "The Sight", so I won't be downloading any more chapters for about a week after those 2 are up.**

_**F O R E S T C L A N**_

_**Leader:**__** Cloud **__– long-haired white tom, blue eyes_

_**Deputy:**__** Sand **__– pretty ginger tabby she-cat with green eyes_

_**Medicine Cat:**__** Leaf **__– long-haired black she-cat, green eyes_

_**Warriors:**_

_**Oak **__– huge dark tabby tom, green eyes_

_**Flame**__ – bright ginger tabby she-cat, yellow eyes_

_**Storm **__– sleek dark gray tom with blue eyes_

_**Cliff **__– dark brown tom, green eyes_

_**Heather **__– light brown (with darker flecks ) she-cat, green eyes_

_**Dandelion **__– golden-brown tabby tomt with unusual orange eyes_

_**Dusk **__– pretty gray she-cat with blue eyes_

_**Star **__– sleek white she-cat, blue eyes_

_**Sparrow **__–unusual tortoiseshell tom with green eyes_

_**Frost **__– white she-cat, green eyes_

_**Yarrow **__– ginger tabby she-cat, green eyes_

_**Stream **__– dark brown tabby she-cat with blue eyes_

_**Moon **__– pale gray she-cat with blue eyes_

_**Shadow **__– black tom with green eyes_

_**Robin **__– brown tabby she-cat with white paws and throat, blue eyes_

_**Clover **__– light gray tom with blue eyes_

_**Honey **__– bright golden she-cat with green eyes_

_**Blossom **__– tortoiseshell she-cat with amber eyes_

_**Lightning **__– light gray tabby tom with blue eyes_

_**Meadow**__ – pretty blue-gray she-cat with yellow eyes_

_**Mentors:**_

_**Steel **__– very dark gray (almost black) tom, gray eyes_

_**Hawk **__– brown tabby tom with yellow eyes_

_**Rowan**__ – black she-cat with green eyes_

_**Leopard **__– unusually spotted golden she-cat with black spots and green eyes_

_**Sunny **__– light brown tabby tom, blue eyes_

_**Moth **__– solid brown she-cat with green eyes_

_**Birch **__– light silver tabby tom with blue eyes_

_**Apprentices:**_

_**Feather **__– pretty light gray (almost white) she-cat, blue eyes_

_**Breeze **__– skinny light brown (with darker flecks) she-cat, yellow eyes_

_**Summer**__ – ginger tabby tom with green eyes_

_**Dove **__– dark gray she-cat, blue eyes_

_**Spider**__ – black tom with amber eyes_

_**Queens:**_

_**Holly **__– tortoiseshell she-cat with blue eyes_

_**Chestnut**__ – red-brown she-cat with a white throat and amber eyes_

_**Elders:**_

_**Apple**__ – brown tabby she-cat with green eyes_

_**Mouse**__ – fawn-colored tom with amber eyes_

_**Pine**__ – very dark brown tom with blue eyes_


	2. Before Warriors: Prologue

_**Prologue**_

_The four kits tumbled and rolled playfully over one another, sinking their miniscule claws harmlessly into their siblings' fluffy pelts. Their high-pitched mews rang across the hollow, and other cats looked up for a moment before comprehending their antics and going back to their own business. Not far away, a dark, hulking tabby warrior with massive shoulders and brooding green eyes stared unblinkingly at them._

_"Settle down," he purred suddenly, in a gentle meow that belied his bulky body. "It's time for you to go back into the nursery." His green eyes, just a heartbeat ago filled with foreboding shadows, were now overflowing with obvious affection for the kits. They immediately froze at the firm sound of his voice, and turned to face him, in a perfect line._

_The warrior chuckled, his rumbling purr making the kits twitch their tails with glee. One of them piped up, in a squeaky whine, "When I grow up, I wanna be just like father!" The kit who had spoken sported the warrior's dark tabby coat, but he had a white chest and paws. His green eyes held the same sparkle as his father's, with a bit more warmth in them._

_The big tom lowered his muzzle until it was facing eye-to-eye with the tiny kit. "I don't doubt that you could be a future Clan leader," he meowed, rubbing his nose up against his son's cheek for a heartbeat before sitting up straight again._

_Just then, a pretty orange tabby she-cat came padding out of the den behind them. "You better be keeping your eagle eye trained on our kits at all times, Brambleclaw," she teased. "They need to be totally safe and healthy to become big strong warriors like their father, and to do that, they need to play nice!"_

_Brambleclaw shrugged. "I saw some pretty nice fighting moves in the makings, Pinekit," he rumbled, looking pointedly at the little tabby kit. His son looked down at the ground, suddenly bashful. Brambleclaw continued, looking back at the tabby queen. "Our kits are just fine, Squirrelflight," he assured her. "Good," she purred with a great deal of satisfaction. "Now," she added, turning to the kits, "It's time for you to go to sleep, so you can play some more tomorrow. It's no good if you're all too sleepy to even leave the nursery!"_

_"No," little Pinekit yelped as Squirrelflight sank her teeth into the back of his neck, lifting him by the loose folds of skin that constituted his scruff. "I wanna go to see the elders. I wanna hear some stories!"_

_Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw exchanged a fleeting glance, then both nodded slightly in unison. "Sure," Brambleclaw meowed as Squirrelflight set Pinekit gently down. "As long as it's just one story, and a short one at that. Now, off with you."_

_Before he had finished speaking, Pinekit was off, racing across the camp toward the elders' den. His siblings, Rabbitkit, Ashkit, and Swiftkit, trotted after him, their short tails held up proudly._

_The elders were thrilled to see the four young kits. Graystripe, the former ThunderClan deputy, gave a rusty purr when Pinekit's face peered around the corner. Longtail, the blind tom, lifted his nose to scent the air. "Pinekit?" he grunted. Mousefur, the other elder, nodded. "Yes, it is Pinekit. And Ashkit, Rabbitkit, and Swiftkit, too!"_

_"Tell us a story," Pinekit squeaked as he slipped into the den. "Please!" Rabbitkit pleaded, stepping up to stand alongside her brother. The other two kits put in their opinions, their high mews creating a medley of squeaks and mews._

_"Of course," Longtail meowed kindly. "Happy to," Graystripe added, and Mousefur echoed him. "Yes, we're happy to."_

_"Tell us a good one," Ashkit requested. "Oh, shush, Ashkit, all their stories are good ones," Pinekit interrupted. "Calm down," Graystripe meowed, his authority making all the kits look up at his wide, kind face. "I already know what I'll tell you."_

_The four kits seemed ready to explode with excitement as they settled down among the three elderly cats as Graystripe began to talk._

_"This tale starts with one Clan, one forest, and four heroic young cats who will risk their lives for the future of their race. Their names were Storm, Dusk, Stream, and Breeze of ForestClan. This is the story of how our four Clans came to be..."_


End file.
